Wood-splitting machine



H. M. YOUNG.

WOOD SPLITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1918. 1,328,471. Patented .12.11.20, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H. M. YOUNG. wool)summaMACHINE.`

` APPLlc T 5, fr.

A 10N FILED SEPT le 19.18 I Patented Jan. 1920.

3 sHEETs-sHEE 2.

H. M. YOUNG.

WOOD SPLITTING MACHINE.

APPLlcATxoN FILED SEPT. le. 1918 1,328,471.

Patented Jan. 20, 1920;.lv

a sHEETs-sHEEJ e iff/Ly f lUlNTED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

HORACE M. YOUNG, OF NIAGARA FALLS, NE'W YORK.

WOOD-SPLITTING MACHINE.

inea-ivi.

Application led September 16, 1918.

0 all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, HORACE M. YOUNG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Niagara Falls, in the county of Niagara and State of N ew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in `Wood Splitting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a wood splitting machine, and more particularly to a machine of the portable type.

One of the objects of my invention is the provision of a portable wood splitting machine which can be conveniently moved from place to place for splitting wood to the desired thickness or thicknesses by passing the wood to be split through the machine.

inotner object of my invention is to provide a wood splitting machine having means whereby the wood is separated after being split so that pieces largerthan the size or sizes desired will be delivered to the feeding end of the machine to be split while the remaining pieces split to the proper sizes are delivered over the rear end of the machine to be corded or otherwise disposed of.

rlf'he invention consists in the novel feature of construction and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the subjoined claims.I

ln the drawings,-

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine constructed according` to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through a portion of the machine near its front end taken on line a-a, Fig. 5.

4L is a longitudinal section through the rear end of the machine taken on line (n n, Fig. 5.

5 is an enlarged transverse section taken on line b-b, Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged transverse section taken on line cc, Fig. 1. 1

Fig. 7 is a detail view showing a portion of the wood receiving trough arranged at the bottom of the machine.

Fig. 8 is a detached perspective view of part of the sizing and separating mechanism,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 20, 1920.`

Serial No. 254,182.

Referring now to the d"awings in detail, like numerals of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

The reference numeral 1 designates the front axle, 2 the rear axle, and 3 the traction and supporting wheels rotatably mounted on the ends of said axles. The front axle 1 comprises a body portion 4t, the ends of which are secured in skeins having the axle spindle 6 integral therewith. The body portion 4 has a depression 7 in its upper face between its ends and in this depressed portion a bolster S is secured by means of a king bolt 9 which passes through the axle from the bottom and has a reduced threaded portion 10 at its upper end which is threaded into said bolster.

11 designates the reach, or bed, so called since along the same the wood to be cut is adapted to be moved. This reach or bed extends from a point a distance in front of the front axle 1 to a point a distance in rear of the rear axle 2 and it is secured to the bolster S by means of bolts or screws 12 and to the rear axle 2 by means of bolts or screws By thus connecting the rear axle 2 with the bolster 8 the latter is prevented from turning and permits the turning of the front axle for steering the machine.

rlhe reach or bed 11 is provided with two longitudinally disposed grooves 14, 15, which are spaced apart, the securing bolts or screws 12 and 13 being countersunk below the bottoms of these grooves. Overhanging the opposite side walls of each of these grooves are guide bars 16 which are secured to the top of the reach or bed 11 in any approved manner. The splitting mechanism is mounted on a superstructure 17 which comprises four uprights 18, two of which are secured to the bolster 8 near opposite ends and two to the rear axle 2. These nprights are therefore arranged in pairs at each side of the machine which are connected at their upper ends by means of longitudinal shaft supports 19. The lower ends of the uprights 18 at the front of the machine are fastened to the bolster 8 by means of braces 20 applied to the uprights at the inner and outer sides thereof and bolted thereto by means of the bolts 21. These Cit braces are secured to the bolster 8 by means of bolts 22. Similar braces 23 are provided at the lower ends of the uprights 18 at the rear of the machine, these braces being secured to the rear axle in the same manner that the braces 20 are secured to the bolster 8. rThe braces 23 are also secured to the uprights 18 at the rear of the machine by means of bolts similar' to the bolts 21 which fasten the b aces 29 tothe uprights at the front of the machine. 1n addition to the braces, straps 24 are passed around the bolster and extend up in Contact with the front and rear faces of the uprights 18 at the front of the machine, and similar straps 25 are applied to the rear axle 2 and lie in contact with the front and rear faces of the rear uprights. rllhe straps 24 and 25 are secured to the uprights by means of bolts or screws 26, as best shown in Fig. 6.

The longitudinal shaft supports 19 rest upon the upper ends of the uprights 18 and are secured thereto by means of straps 27, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 5. food cutters or splitting disks 28, 29, v are arranged directly above the reach or bed 11, these disks being of successively larger diameter from the front to the rear of the machine. Each cutter or disk is mounted on a. shaft 31 journaled in bearings 32 scured to the under side of the shaft supports 19. The bearings 32 of the shafts on which the disks 28 and 30 are mounted have angular extensions by means of which the upper ends of the uprights 18 are braced to the shaft supports 19.

Each of the shafts 31 has colla-rs 34 secured thereto which bear against the inner sides of the bearings in which the shaft is mounted. The wood cutters or splitting disks are positioned on said shafts centrally between their ends and each is retained in position by collars 35 secured to the shaft supporting the cutter and bears against opposite sides of the latter. Each cutter is disk-like in formation and tapered from its central portion outwardly to its periphery to provide a knife edge for the same, said central portion being widened in the cutters 28, 29 to provide extending` hub ends 36 against which the collars 35 bear.

The cable wheels or sheaves 37 are provided at the front end of the machine in line with the longitudinal grooves 14, 15 therein, and similar cable wheels or sheaves 38 are provided at the rear end of the machine, these being also in alinement with said grooves.

Brackets 39 are provided which extend forwardly from the front end of the reach or bed 11 and in said brackets the axle 40 of the front cable wheel is journaled. Brackets 41 also extend rearwardly from the rear end of said reach or bed in which the axle 42 of the rear cable wheels 38 is journaled, said brackets 39 and 41 being secured to opposite sides of said reach or bed.

The cable wheels 37, 38 of the reach or bed are arranged in pairs, each wheel at the front being mated with a wheel at the rear and around each pair of these wheels an endless cable 43 passes. While 1 have shown cables passing around said cable wheel, these elements of my apparatus may be termed wood feeding belts, since it is possible to substitute chains or equivalent means for the cables. Each of the cable wheels, which may be broadly considered feeding wheels, is preferably provided with peripheral pockets or depressions 45 into which fit feeding lugs or pushers 44 secured to the cables. Each of these feeding lugs is formed of two parts 46, 47, and at regular intervals I have shown feeding lugs provided with extensions 48 at their feeding or pushing ends.

Each part of a feeding lug is provided with a semi-circular groove which forms an opening through the lug when the parts thereof are secured together, and in these openings the cables 43 are secured. rlhese lugs are secured to each cable at regular intervals so that in passing over the cable wheels they will enter the pockets or depressions 45 in said wheels. 1t is of course understood that when chains or other equivalent means is substituted for the cables, the contacting faces of the two parts of each lug will be grooved to conform to the cross sectional shape of the chain or other substituted element. These lugs are also provided at opposite sides with grooves 49 to receive the overhanging guide bars 16, these grooves being partly formed in each part of each lug. rllhe two parts of the lugs are secured together and the lugs fastened to the cable or other feeding element by means of a bolt 50 passing through one part and taking into the other. Bv guiding the lugs in the longitudinal grooves 14, 15 of the .reach or bed, the cables are held from contact with the bottoms of said grooves.

On the under side of said reach or bed in rear of the bolster 8, depending lugs 51 are provided, these lugs being integral with said reach or bed. Two shaft supports in the form of links 52 are pivctally secured at their upper ends to said lugs and extend from said lugs downwardly and inwardly, and in their lower or forward ends a shaft 53 is mounted, said shaft bearing cable wheels 54 similar to the cable wheels 37, 38. The axis of cable wheels 54 is in a lower plane than the axes of the cable wheels 37, 38, but it will be observed that the rear cable wheels are considerably larger than the cable wheels 37 and 54, this being for CII the purpose of bringing the lowermost stretch of the cable in close proximity to the bottoni et' a wood carrier or trough to be presently described. rlhe cable wheels 54 may be termed idlers to maintain the feeding cable taut at all times and to keep that portion oic said cable between said idler wheels and the rear cable wheels B8 ir. a horizontal position.

Secured to the rear aille 42 is a drive pulley around which a belt may be passed Jfor rotating id shaft and the cable wheels thereon, and through said cable wheels causing the tee-ding cables to rotate the cable wheels 37 and the idler wheels 54, the movement ot said feeding cable being utilized to teed the wood to be split and the split wood ot larger sizes than desired, through the machine.

The reach or bed is provided centrally with a shallow depression 56 on its upper tace, see Fig. 5, in which the wood is moved rearward. rhe cutting edges of the disks are arranged successively closer to the reach or bed from front to rear so that wood placed onto said reach or bed and carried rearwardly by the. feeding cable will be gradually reduced in size under the successive cutting or splitting actions oi these disks., the pieces of wood smaller than the size' desired delii/ered from the rear oe end oft the machine and those that are of larger sire being delivered to the sides ot the reach er bed to be passed through the machine a secend time.

lt is to be noted that l have shown the cutters or splitting disks arranged to operate against the wood passed through the machine without driving said cutters or disks, but it' desired, these cutters or disks may be driven in any suitable manner 'from the shaft 4t2, or otherwise. in either case, however, it will be 'found that considerable strain is applied to the reach or bed, and for this reason l have shown said reach or bed constructed of metal and provision made for firmly supporting the vsame on the axles of the machine.

designates a wood carrier or trough ing a dat bottom 58, and upwardly direrging sides 59, 60. This carrier or trough is supported from the reach or bed 1l by means oiC bolts 61, these bolts being passed entrall3T through the reach or bed and eX- tending downwardly through the tlat bottom 58. rlhe heads or" the bolts 61 are nountersunk in the reach or bed so as to avoilr obstructing the feeding of the wood along tl e latter'. @ne of these bolts is arranged in rear ot the rear axle and the other in the rear of the trent axle and each has a nut 62 secured to its lower ends against which the t bottom of the carrier or trough rests.

is clearly shown in Fig. 1, each of the rear brackets 41 is secured to a side ot the reach or bed by means of a bolt 53 passed through the front end ot the bracket and additional bolts or pins Gil disposed in a plane or planes in rear of said bolt 63. These brackets are oi considerable width between their ends and an additional bolt hole G is provided at a low point ot each bracket.

Upon removing the bolts or pins 6i, the brackets l1 may be swung upwardly on the bolts 63 to bring the bolt hole 65 ot each bracket in line with a bolt hole in the reach or bed into which one of the bolts 64 was threaded. ln this .manner the rear cable wheels 38 may be elevated. lWhen so elevated, the lower stretch of cable is raised, thereby permitting the carrier r trough 57 to be elevated, which is a desirable 'feature of my invention, snee it permits of moving the machine from place to place without having parts thereof suliiciently low to come in Contact with obstructions along the road or other path over which the machine may be drawn.

To permit of raising the carrier or trough 57, each of the bolts 6l is provided with one or more diainetral openings or pin holes 6G, and when lifting the carrier or trough these bolts are moved upwardly to bring the diametral openinofs or holes G6 therein above the upper tace oi the reach or bed. VJhen in this position, pins may be passed through these holes, which pins may project from opposite sides of the bolts and rest upon the upper face of the reach or bed. ln the drawings I have shown a single pin hole termed in each bolt 61, but additional pin holes ma)Y be provided it desired. i

Depending from the trent and rear axles are hooks 67 into which are adapted to lit rod 68 arranged lengthwise along the upper edges ot the sides 59, GO oic said carrier or trough, thus holding said sides elevated. This carrier or trough has its sides hinged to the dat bottom 58, as at 69. The flat bottom 58 and the sides are preterably built up with planks or narrow pieces of wood secured to straps 70 arranged at regular intervals along the length of said carrier or trough, opposite ends of the straps 70 se-. cured to the under side of the flat bottom having hinge members and the lower ends oit the straps 70 at the sides having co-aft" ing hinge members, the hinge members et the sides being so 'formed that one side ma): be swung underneath the flat bottoni 58 and the other side underneath. the first-mentioned side, as clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5.

l/Yhen it is desired to told the carrier or trough 57,- the rods 68 at the upper edges of the sides thereof may be disengaged from the hooks G7 and the iolts 61 may be forced upwardly with the carrier or trough to a sufficient height to permit the sides to be swung underneath the bottom, or any other method may be resorted to for folding the sides underneath the bottom.

The braces Q0 applied to the inner sides of the uprights 18 have upstanding webs 7l, the upper edges of which incline inwardly, and resting upon said webs are boards "2 which serve as guards, the upper faces of said boards at their inner edges being` arranged flush with the upper sides of the guide bars 16. By reason of these Iboards being applied to said webs they ineline inwardly from their outer edges, and any tendency of the wood carried along the reach or bed to roll outwardly is prevented thereby.

f 'he reach or bed l1 is provided at its front end with a downward extension 73 to which the front end of a brace arm 74 is secured, the rear end of said brace arm having the king bolt 9 passed therethrough.

The front axle is provided near each end with a pair of forwardly extending spaced lugs 7 5 in which the rear ends of two inwardly diverging steering bars 7 6 are pivotally secured, the front ends of said bars being pivotally secured to the ends of a cross steering bar 77 by means of bolts 78. Said cross steering bai' is pivotally secured between its ends to the downward extension 7 3 of the reach or bed by a bolt 79 passing through said cross bar, through the front end of the brace arin 742 and into said downward extension. The cross steering bar 77 is provided near each end with a depending lug 80 to each of which the rear end of one of the side bars of a hound 81 are secured, a pole 82 being secured to the front end of said hound.

The carrier or troua h. 57 is arranged with two channels or 83 formed by longitudinally-disposed boards 84; secured centrally to the upper side of the flat bottom 58 of said carrier or trough, the lower stretch ef one of the cables or wood feeding elements traveling` through one of said channels or ways, and the lower stretch of the other cable or wood feeding element through the other channel or wav, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. rThe boards 84 are separated, as at 85, and in the space between adjacent ends of these boards and in line therewith, the rear supporting belt 6l is positioned. Between the front end of the front board 84 and the idlers or cable wheels 54E, a protector' 86 is arranged, this protector hai/'ing the front supporting bolt 6l passed therethrough and having also legs 87 which position the body portion of said protector above the lower stretches of the feeding elements so that these elements may pass underneath said bor y portion.

Said protector has its sides flared forwardly and serves to deflect'the pieces of wood laterally in opposite directions so as to prevent them from coming in contact with the idlers, thereby avoiding wedging of the wood in the trough. The pieces of wood deflected laterally are forced over the front edge of the trough by the pieces advancing while still engaged by the woodfeeding belt. lt is apparent therefore that the split pieces of wood cannot become wedged in the trough and the feeding parts of the machine are consequently at no time subjected to undue strains. A. pin 88 is passed through the front supporting bolt 61 and bears against the upper side of said protector. Said pin servesto hold said protector against accidental upward movement along said bolt but is withdrawable to permit of elevating the protector when the rear cable wheels 38 are swung upwardly with their supporting brackets so as to permit the lower stretches of the feeding elements to assume an elevated position with the carrier or trough.

At the rear of the machine, directly in rear of the largest wood cutter or splitting disk, a combined sizing and separating device is provided. rlfhis device comprises a standard or supportino' member 90 in the form cf a separator which is secured to the reach or bed of the machine in any approved manner. This separator is provided with a long vertical rear edge 91 and a short vertical front edge 92, the front edge being sharpened so that the pieces of wood split by the cutters or disk and particularly the wood split by the rearinost or largest cutter or disk is moved in contact with this separator and the parts thereof fed to opposite sides of the separator 90. If any of the wood reaching this point is not entirely split, this separator will serve to completely splitthe same while forcing the wood rearwardly, as the sharpened or knife edge of the eparator is in direct line with the cutting` edges of the wood cutters or disks.

The separator is inclined downwardly and forwardly from the upper end of its rear edge a short distance, as at 93, and then curved, as at 94, to conform to the curvature of the peripheral cutting edge of the rearmost or largest cutter or disk 30. This arrangement positions the front cutting edge of the separator directly beneath the rear portion of the largest cutter or dislr.

The separator has lugs 95 extending rearwardly from its rear edge and pivotally secured to these lugs are gates 96 extending` in opposite directions from the separator so as to be positioned transversely over the cable feeding elements 4:3. The outer ends of these gates are therefore free and the gates are adapted to swing rearwardly.

rIhey are, however, retained in transverse position by springs 97 .coiled around the pivot pins 98 passing through the lugs 95 and cooperating lugs 99 formed at the inner ends of the gates. These gates are provided with rearwardly extending stop lugs 100 at their outer ends, which are adapted to limit the rearward and inward swinging movements of the gates by coming in contact with a stop 101 secured to the reach or bed and positioned in rear of the separator 90.

1t is to be noted that the lower edges of these gates are disposed a certain distance above the reach or bed and that the gates are r l ed at their outei ends, as at 102, so as to i in openings 103 through which the split wood may pass. food cut to larger size than these openings will therefore en- .C g the front faces of the gates and cause the saine te swing rearwardly. rlie gates, due to their swinging rearwardly, will direct the larger pieces of wood laterally and over the opposite sides of the reach or bed. For this purpose the rear brackets 3S are previded at their upper ends with outstanding v-:e'os 1.0i-, onto which pieces of wood larger than that desired is fed and from which webs the wood drops into the carrier or trough to be moved forward by the cable 43 to the front end of the machine, where it is again placed upon the reach or bed to be moved rearwardly and cut or split to smaller sizes. The gates will in themselves serve to separate the wood into two grades, one grade being of sizes capable of passing underneath the narrow inner portion of the gates between the outer depending or widen-ed portions 102 thereof; and the other grade including' all larger sizes.

Since, however, it is oftentimes desirable to use only pieces of wood that are considerably smaller than the openings 103 formed beneath the gates, l have provided adjustable sizing' means arranged to size the wood in two directions as it is delivered along the reach or bed; that is, in height or width. For this purpose, each gate is provided with a gage 105 having' a flat horizontally-disposed gaging portion 106 and a slotted ver tically-disposed securing portion 107. rI he securing portions of these gages are placed against the rear faces of the gates, and bolts 108 pass through the slots of the same and fasten into the gates. The fiat horizontal y-disposed gaging portions 106 may therefore be positioned the desired distance above the reach or bed so that they serve to gage the thickness of the pieces of wood vertieally as they are fed along said reach or 11 and may therefore be termed top Aadditional gages 109, which may rn'ied side gages are provided to the thickness of the pieces of wood i rEhese side gages 109 are adjustably secured the under side of the depending or widened portions 102 at the outer ends of the gates, by means of bolts l`i0. rlhe side gages extend inwardly from the depending or widened end portions of the gates and the front edges thereof are gradually curved rearwardly. The inner ends of the side gages are increased in depth, t 111, to provide contact portions and to bring he said contact portions beneath the lower faces of the top gages 103.

.iaiach of the 'side gages has a slot 112 alone' its front marginal portion, and a slot 113 ir provided along its rear marginal portion, these slots converging and merging into a single slot 114: at the outer ends of the side gages. rl`his side gage may be positioned se that the bolts 110 may be passed through the slot 112, or so that one of said bolts may be passed through each of the slots 112, 133, thus permitting the side gages to be positioned on the gage at different angles. This being necessary due to the fact that when wood larger than the desired size comes in Contact with the contact portions 111 of said side gages, the gates are swung rearwardly and the angles of the front edges of the side gages are such that the wood is directed outwardly over the ledges 10a formed on the rear brackets ell, from which it will drop into the carrier or trough and be moved forwardly to the front end of the machine to be passed through the splitting mechanism a second time.

The wood is placed upon the reach or bed at the front end of the machine to be engaged by the lugs or pushers l-/l secured to the cables or endless feeding elements 13, and by these lugs or pushers the wood moved rearwardly along said reach or bed, engaging the cutters or splitting disks 2S, and 30 in succession, provided of course that the pieces of wood are sufliciently large to come in contact with the smallest disk 28. T he smaller pieces of wood may, however, come in contact with the disks 29, 30 only, but such pieces that may pass underneath the intermediate cutter or disk 29 without coming in contact therewith, will be engaged by the Alargest cutter' or disk 30 and be split thereby. The large pieces will be fissured by the smallest cutter or disk 28, and in passing in contact with the intermediate or medium sized cutter or disk 29 may be split in two along the fissures formed by the smallest disk, and if not completely split in two by the intermediate disk, will be engaged by the largest disk 30, which in most cases insures complete splitting of the wood. Some pieces may, however be split yet the parts thereof goined together by splinter-s, and when such pieces come in Contact with completely separated thereby. The wood split in this manner will be forced along the reach or bed, the pieces thereof passing at opposite sides of the separator.

Pieces split to a given size or smaller will pass underneath the gates 96 or the gaging devices secured to the gage, as the case may 'the separator 90, the parts thereof will be be, and be delivered by the cables orfeeding elements 43 over the rear end of the machine, to be corded or otherwise disposed of. |The pieces of wood, however, that are not small enough to pass underneath the gatesl or the gaging devices applied to the gates, as the case may be, will cause the gates to swing rearwardly and inwardly to form deectors, the pieces of wood being deflected by said gates or the gaging devices thereon over the sides of the reach or bed so that they fall into the trough or carrier 57, the lugs or pushers on the lower stretches of the cables or feeding elements 43 engaging the pieces of wood and moving them forward to the front end of said trough or carrier where they are delivered in a convenient position to be again placed upon the reach or bed at the feeding end of the machine to be passed through the machine a second time. The protector S6 is provided near the front end of the trough 'or carrier to deflect the wood so as to position the same lengthwise with a view of having the lugs or pushers on the cables or feeding elements engage the ends of said pieces; also to protect said cables or feeding elements against unnecessary strain by reason of pieces of wood lodging crosswise and becoming wedged in such positions.

llhile I have shown three wood cutter or splitting disks, I do not wish to limit myself to this number, as a single disk or any other number may be used without departing from the spirit of my invention. Other changes and modifications may also be rcsorted to under the principle involved in this invention, as the drawings are to be considered only as representing what I now consider the best embodiment of my .invention. It is-therefore intended that all inatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying` drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not as limiting, and that many changes could be made without departing from the scope of this invention.

What I claim is l. In a wood splitting machine, a support, a wood splitting element in operative relation to said support, means for feeding wood to said wood splitting element, and means for gaging the wood to size to separate the split pieces larger than a given size from the pieces of or smaller than the given size.

2. A wood splitting machine, comprising a longitudinal bed onto one end of which the wood to be split is placed, means for feeding the wood lengthwise along said'bed, wood splitting elements arranged along said bed and spaced therefrom to split the wood fed along the bed, and means for separating the split pieces'larger than a given size from those of or smaller than the given size.

'endless feeding elements passing lengtln 3. A wood splitting machine, comprising a longitudinal bed, an endless feeding element passing lengthwise around said bed, the upper stretch of which is adapted to feed wood from the front end of said bed to the rear end thereof, splitting elements adapted to split the wood fed along said bed, means near the rear end of said bed for separating the wood and delivering the pieces larger than a given size over the side 7 of the bed, the lower stretch of said feeding element being adapted to feed the wood larger than the given size to the front end of the machine to permit of passing the same through the machine a second time. 8c

4. il wood splitting machine, comprising a longitudinal bed, a trough beneath said bed and wider than the same, an endless feeding element traveling lengthwise around said bed and having one stretch thereof 35 passing` along the top and another stretch beneath the bottom of said bed, wood splitting elements above said bed against which the wood to be split is carried by the upper stretch of said feeding element, and means 9o for separating the split wood to direct the pieces larger than a given size over the sides said bed and into said trough to be carried forward by the lower stretch of said feeding element, said separating means permitting the split wood of and smaller than the given size to be delivered over the rear end of said bed.

5. A portable wood splitting machine, comprising a wheeled reach or bed, a trough loo beneath said reach or bed and wider than the same, an endless feeding element passing around said reach or bed, wood splitting elements above said reach or bed and spaced diiferent distances therefrom, and means at the rear end of said reach or bed for the wood according to size and delivering split pieces larger than a given size into said trough to be returned to the front end of the machine by the lower stretch of said feeding element.

6. A wood splitting machine, comprising a reach or bed, axles on which said reach or bed is secured, wheels rotatable on said axles a trough beneath said reach or bed and iis wider than the same, means for supporting said trough from said reach or bed, a plurality of wood splitting disks of different sizes arranged above said reach or bed 'l having their effective cutting edges spass 12o successively closer to said reach or hed toward the rear end of the machine, sua-cell around said reach or bed and having l or pushers secured thereon, and mea, rear of said splitting disks for separa the split wood to permit pieces of smaller than a given size to pass th .a through and to compel pieces larger than tne given size to be delivered over the sides of said reach or bed and into said trough, the wood delivered into said trough being carried by the lower stretches of said feeding elements to the front end of the machine so as to be again passed through the machine and be split to smaller size or sizes.

7. A wood splitting machine, comprising a bed provided with a pair of longitudinallyspaced grooves, a pair of cable sheaves at each end of said bed provided with peripheral pockets, cables passing around said sheaves, each cable having one stretch thereof adapted to move rearwardly through one of said grooves and one stretch thereof to move forwardly beneath said bed, lugs secured at regular intervals to each of said cables and adapted to enter the pockets in said sheaves, means for rotating one pair of said sheaves to cause movement of said cables, a trough situated beneath said bed and wider than the same, a plurality of splitting disks arranged above said bed, and means at the rear end of said bed to separate the split wood and feed the pieces larger than a given size into said trough to `be carried by the lugs on the lower stretches of said cables forwardly in said trough to the front end of the machine.

`8. A portable wood splitting' machine, comprising a reach or bed, axles to which said reach or bed is secured, wheels rotatable on said axles, a trough underneath said bed and carried thereby, means for raising said trough, cable sheaves at the front and rear ends of said bed, a cable passing lengthwise around said 'bed and around said sheaves with the lower stretch of the cable normally a distance from the under side of said bed.I means for rotating the sheaves at one end of said bed, means for elevating the cable sheave at one end of said bed to raise the lower stretches of the cables and permit said trough to be elevated, projections on said cables adapted to engage pieces of wood to be split and force the same along said reach or bed, a wood splitting disk rotatably arranged above said bed against which the wood to be split is forced, and means for separating the split wood to cause pieces larger than a given size to be delivered into said trough and by the lower stretches of said cables be carried forwardly along said trough to the front end of the machine.

9. A portable wood splitting machine, comprising a wheeled bed, a trough beneath said bed, bolts carrying said trough and having their upper headed ends countersunk in said bed, said bolts being slidable through said bed and each having a pin hole a distance from its upper end through which pins are to be passed when said bolts are moved upwardly to bring` said pin holes above the top surface of said bed, a splitting element arranged above said bedmeans for forcing the wood along said bed to engage said splitting element and be split thereby, and means in rear of said splitting element to cause wood larger than a given size to be delivered into said trough.

l0. A portable wood splitting machine comprising a reach or bed, axles to which said reach or bed is secured, wheels on said axles, splitting disks above said reach or bed, means for feeding wood to the successive splitting disks, a trough beneath said bed adapted to be elevated when transporting said machine, and means for holdings; said trough in elevated position.

ll. A wood splitting machine comprising a reach or bed, axles to which said reach or bed is secured, wheels mounted on said axles, a` trough vertically adjustable underneath said bed, wood splitting elements above said bed, means for feeding wood along said bed to be split by said splitting elements, and means in rear of said splitting elements to direct the split wood larger than a given size into said trough, said feeding element being also utilized to force the wood delivered into said trough along the trough to the front end of the machine.

l2. A portable wood splitting machine, comprising a' wheeled body portion including a bed, wood feeding mechanism movable lengthwise along said bed, wood splitting elements above said bed, and a trough beneath said bed and carried thereby, said trough having a bottom and sides pivotally secured to opposite longitudinal edges of said bottom, and means for holding the sides in elevated positions.

13. A portable wood splitting machine, comprising a wheel-supported bed, wood splitting elements supported above said bef means for feeding wood to be split along said bed, and a trough suspended from said bed and wider than the latter, said trough having a bottom and upwardly diverging` sides hinged to said bottom and arranged to swing underneath said bottom with one side swung under the other, and means for holding said sides in elevated positions.

14. A portable wood splitting machine. comprising a bed, axles to which said bed is secured, wheels on said axles, wood splitting mechanism above said bed, a trough suspended from said bed and having a bottom and upwardly diverging sides hinged to said bottom, each side having a rod secured to its upper edge, and hooks secured to said axles onto which said rods are adapted to be hung.

l5. A wood splitting machine having a longitudinal bed, wood splitting elements above said bed, means for feeding wood along said bed, a separator secured to the upper side of said bed in alinement with said wood splitting elements, and gates hinged at their inner ends to said separator and having portions thereof spaced from said bed to provide openings through which the split pieces of Wood of and smaller than a given size are passed, said gates serving to deflect pieces larger than the given size laterally.

16. A Wood splitting machine, comprising a support, Wood splitting means, means for feeding Wood to be split to said splitting means, a separator in rear of said splitting means, and means carried by said separator to gage the split Wood and to separate pieces of and smaller than a given size from pieces larger than the given size.

17. A Wood splitting machine, comprising support, means for splitting Wood above said support, feeding mechanism for feeding the vvood to be split by said splitting means, a separator in rear of said splitting i eans, gates pivotally secured at their inner ends to said separator and adapted to swing rearwardly and inwardly, and ing means secured to said gates.

18. In combination, in a Wood splitting machine, means for splitting Wood, means for separating Wood according to sizes after being` split, and means for automatically returning pieces larger than a predetermined size to the feeding end of said machine,

19. ln combination, in a Wood splitting machine, means for splitting Wood, means for separating pieces of split Wood of and smaller than a givenr s'ze from pieces larger than the given size, and means for automatically returning pieces larger than a predetermined size to the feeding end of said machine. i

20. ln combination, in a. Wood splitting machine, Wood splitting means, means to feed vvood to be split to and beyond said Wood splitting means, a support in rear of said Wood splitting means, gates hinged to saitL support and extending` in opposite direction therefrom, and means secured to each gate for gaging the split Wood in Width and height.

21. ln combination, in a Wood splitting machine, means for splitting vrood, means for feeding the ivood to be split to and in rear of said Wood splitting means, a. support in rear of said Wood splitting means, a gate hinged at one end to said support and having depending portion at its other end, means secured to said depending portion for gaging the Width of the Wood, and means secured to the gate between said depending portion and its pivoted end for the height of the Woo-d.

ln a vvood splitting machine, a longitudinal support, Wood splitting elements above said support, means for feeding Wood to be split along said support, a separator secured to said support in rear of said Wood splitting elements and having` a sharpened front end, gates secured to the rear end of said separator and extending laterally in Leef-i471 opposite directions therefrom, each gate having a depending portion at its outer end, an adjustable member secured to each gate between its pivoted end and the depending portion thereof, and an adjustable gage member secured to the depending portion of each gate and provided at its inner end with Contact portions.

23. A vvood splitting' machine, comprising a longitudinal bed, Wood splitting means above said bed, means for feeding Wood to be split along said bed, a separator in rear of said wood splitting means, and a pair of oppositely-directed gates pivotally secured at their inner ends to said separator and having depending portions at their outer ends.

2a. A Wood splitting machine, comprising a longitudinal bed, ivood splitting means above said bed, means for feeding vrood to be split along said bed, and a pair of oppositely-directed gates pivoted at one of their ends and having depending portions at their other ends.

25. A Wood splitting machine, comprising a longitudinal bed, Wood splitting means above said bed, means for feeding Wood to be split along said bed, and a gate disposed normally at a right angle to the line of travel of the Wood through the machine, said gate being pivoted at one end in rear of 'said Wood splitting means and having a depending portion at its other end to gage the thickness of the split pieces in one direction.

261 ln a Wood splitting machine, a support, a gate hinged to. said support, and gaging means comprising tivo gaging members secured to said gate, one gaging member comprising a horizontally-disposed gaging portion and a slotted verticallydisposed securing portion adjustably secured to said gate and the other gaging member extending inivardly from the outer end of said gate and being gradually curved rearwardly at its front edge. with the inner ends thereof increased in depth to provide contact portions.

27. ln a Wood splitting machine, gaging mechanism comprising a gate pivoted at one end and having a depending portion at its other end, a gaging member secured to said gate between its pivoted end and said depending` portion and comprising a slotted vertically-disposed securing portion adjustably secured to said gate and a flat horizontally-disposed gaging portion, and a second gaging member secured to the lovver edge of said depending portion and having its front edge curved rearwardly With the inner end of the gage increased in depth to provide a contact portion, said second gaging member having inwardly diverging slots terminating in a single slot at their outer ends and through one or more of Which slots bolts are passed to position the gaging member at the desired angle for deflecting pieces of Wood larger than a given size in one direction while permitting wood of and smaller than the given size to pass said gaging member.

28. A wood splitting machine, comprising a longitudinal bed, wood splitting elements supported above said bed, means for feeding wood to be split along said bed including a pair of endless cables, a trough beneath said bed having an upstanding board situated between the lower stretches of said cables, idlers in contact with which said cables travel, and means to protect said idlers so as to guard against pieces of wood carried along said trough becoming wedged against said idlers.

29. A wood splitting machine, comprising a longitudinal bed, wood splitting elements supported above said bed, means for feeding wood to be split along said bed including a pair of endless cables, two pairs of cable wheels around which said cables pass, a pair of idlers situated between said two pairs of cable wheels and in contact with which said cables pass, a trough beneath said bed having an upstanding board situated between the lower stretches of said cables, and a protector situated between said upstanding board and said idlers and having forwardbr flaring sides, as and for the purpose described.

30. A wood splitting machine, comprising a longitudinal bed, wood splitting elements supported above said bed, means Jfor feeding wood to be split along said bed including a pair of endless cables, a trough beneath said bed, supporting bolts suspended from said bed and supporting said trough, idlers situated between said bed and the bottom of said trough, and a protector secured to one of said supporting bolts and arranged in rear of said idlers, said protector having forwardly flaring sides, as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I aX my signature.

HORACE M. YOUNG. 

